The Power of Seven (Prologue)
by belbells
Summary: It's almost seventy years after the previous Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions have settled down and saved the Universe. Now, the Heart of Kandrakar rests peacefully in the Fortress of Infinity. Until now. A dark presence is surrounding the Fortress and all good is threatened. Now, it's up to seven ordinary teens to save the Universe. You could call this a cross-over for Charmed


**PROLOGUE**

The Heart of Kandrakar. The power that is, and forever will be. The namesake of the Fortress of Infinity. As one follows the gilded hallways of Kandrakar, one will see the celebrated crystal in all of its magnificence. Its light shines throughout Kandrakar as a star does in the darkest night. The light that keeps Kandrakar from the dark night that is suddenly starting to surround it. A shadow that can only bring fear, destruction, and chaos to the paradise that is Kandrakar. A shadow that draws closer and closer to the light of the Heart. A woman, filled with terror and desperation, rushes into a small room, followed by a man with a face so calm, so void of all emotion, that it seemed that it was breaking from the strain.

"Oracle, we must evacuate the Fortress. If we have any hope of surviving this, any hope for the Congregation to endure, we _must_ leave. That shadow will surely destroy us all. I beg of you, please-". The woman was cut short by the Oracle's hand held in the air.

"Luba, I am fully aware of the danger that we face. You have told me many upon many of times. And I have given my answer each and every time. More importantly, this is the last time I want to be telling you. I don't know what, or maybe who, the shadow is, but what I do know is that in the end, everything always works out." When he said this, some of the calm seemed to literally drift away from his porcelain face. His gaze became less void of emotion and, instead, began to look more human, more scared, and more terrified as to the fates of the people he loved.

Luba seemed to see this as well, and her heart almost skipped a beat. She did not say it aloud, but she knew in the deepest core of her heart that the Oracle was…scared. And it scared her; it rocked her to her very being. The most powerful…being in the entire Universe was scared of a threat that loomed closer and closer to the Center of Infinity, Kandrakar. "Master," she said with a tremor that could only have come from horror, "I believe that the time has come. Kandrakar needs-".

At this statement, the Oracle exploded in a fury of rage. "Kandrakar needs! Kandrakar _NEEDS_! Can any of you bumbling fools even _imagine_ what Kandrakar needs?! I am the only one that has had to sacrifice for this fortress! The only one that has had to give up…so, so much." The Oracle began to sag onto his knees. "None of you can ever imagine what I had to give up all of these years. And yet, you continue to talk only of my mistakes. You continue to speak of rising against me, plotting against me, killing me…" The Oracle's voice began to soften, and small teardrops began to slide down his now obvious sunken-in cheeks.

Luba did nothing. She stood there, in her shift of spider-woven silk. She could do nothing but stare at the Oracle, her master whom she loved dearly, as he slowly crumbled away. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, and with it, the last of the hope that she had stored within her. She couldn't stop them, no matter what she tried to do to stop them. Suddenly, she did the only thing that she could do: she knelt down beside her Master, the Oracle, and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him with all her strength. Strength that seemed to already be gone, but still she held on. Then, almost as if she imagined it, she heard the Oracle's voice; soft, pure, and compassionate as it had been during the days before the shadow being began to lurk outside Kandrakar.

"Luba….the shadow…it's already gotten me…..you must do….what you know is for the good….of Kandrakar….and the Universe." Then, his eyes went blank. A blank so devoid of emotion that he looked as if he were dead. His body went limp, and the heat crawled away from his body like a snake from the light.

However, Luba did not fear. She knew that her master was not dead. That he was only…sleeping. The tears did not stop falling from her eyes, but she had back her strength and the confidence to do what must be done.

Luba rose to her feet and wiped away her tears. She looked at the body of her Master, tears threatening to leave the premises. Then, she ran to the only place that was in her mind: the sacred grounds of the Heart of Kandrakar. She ran on, not noticing the beautiful, luxurious scenery that decorated every twist and turn of Kandrakar. She only ran on, daring to bind her hopes to the mysterious Jewel that seemed to mean so much at the moment. Finally, after what seemed a lifetime of narrow hallways, and infinitely long corridors, shereached the chamber that held the Heart of Kandrakar.

Luba stopped, standing there to bathe in the humble splendor that is the Heart. The quiet radiance that emanated from the small crystal was calming, soothing, but also very threatened by the darkness that pervades the Fortress. That darkness is what snapped Luba back to her responsibility. She began to quickly walk towards the Heart, trying not to waste any more time gawking like a child who sees a candle flame for the first time. The problem was… she was that child. The power that the Heart exudes is still fresh every time that she sees it, as if it were her first time, though that had happened almost 10,000 years earlier. Yet, she felt as though if she just reached out with her hand, she could just-

"Luba, is that you? What are you doing down here, all alone?" Luba almost sprang around in her place to see an old man with a long, graying beard stepped out of the shadows. There was a playful smile along his lips, and a sparkle in his eyes that one could only take for childish mischief.

Luba immediately recognized him as her friend, Tibor. She painted a smile upon her lips, and took a few steps towards him. "Tibor, friend, I am on very important business in here, so I don't have time to talk. But, after I'm done, I would love to sit down and have a chat with you. I'll be up in 5 minutes." Luba turned back around to face the Heart of Kandrakar that was floating above a small fountain-like pedestal.

"And may I ask what business you are on, dear friend?" Tibor's smile grew even wider, and the sparkle grew even brighter in his eye.

Luba turned back around, ready to chastise her colleague for being a bother-and almost fainted from terror. She now realized what was wrong in this circumstance. Tibor had stepped out from a _shadow_ in a room that was filled with the Light of the Heart of Kandrakar, the Light that extinguishes each and every shadow. That is, until now. Now that she looked at her 'friend' closer, she could see that the smile she had earlier perceived as friendly seemed to transform into a malicious grin, and the sparkle she had taken as mischief looked like the joy of a predator before pouncing on the prey. She had to struggle with all her might to keep the tremor out of her voice as she spoke to …whatever was standing in front of her. "Tibor, as I told you before, I'm on very important business. Now, please leave the chamber or the Oracle will have a fit."

At that statement, Tibor began to laugh. It was a terrible, ugly thin, and as painful to listen to as fingernails on a chalkboard. "My dear Luba, I think we both know what the Oracle is _really_ doing right now, or rather what he is not doing. Well, how about we stop this charade and hand over the Heart of Kandrakar."

Luba didn't wait for Tibor to finish his statement. She turned around, ran back to the Heart of Kandrakar, and quickly snatched it into her hands before ducking to avoid having her face melted off by a sudden bar of fire that erupted from Tibor's palm. Luba glanced at the fresh scorch marks on the pedestal of the Heart. She raised her feline face at Tibor in an expression as close to disgust as she could manage. "What being are you, fiend? And what have you done with my friend?!" In a rage, Luba swept the air with the back of her hand, telekinetically throwing 'Tibor' crashing into a wall. Luba looked down at the Heart in her hands, and thought about her deepest desire in the Universe.

The Heart began to shine with a brilliant, purple light that made Tibor avert his eyes. And in that flash, Luba looked at Tibor with an expression that said one thing: this is not over. As quickly as the flash came, it was gone. And so was Luba.

Tibor opened his eyes, checking to see if Luba was still there, before the pedestal of the Heart. Tibor's face suddenly lit up with a dark, ominous smile. "Well, how did I do, _master_?"

The Oracle suddenly walked out a shadow in the now dark room that had previously housed the most precious Object in the Infinite Dimensions. "I think you've done wonderfully, my servant. All is going according to plan." His now deep voice carried on throughout the room, echoing off the walls like mirrors. "All is going according to plan."

And, even in the dark, one could see the Oracle's eyes flashing a deep, endless black that overshadowed even the whites of his eyes. And loud thunder began to rumble in the distance, almost like a bell that harbors the End.


End file.
